The D'Arc Times we Face
by 4rgeMonger
Summary: "So you're the one who'll bring forth so much darkness," the voice said in a lifeless baritone. Jaune gripped the trident, trying to pull it away from his throat. "Struggle all you want Arc," the monster said. "Soon you will be at a crossroad, when the beast awakens. You will help end the world, or save it. But either way, what you treasure most will die!" (co- Dr. Logica)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So this is my first attempt at a Rwby story, co-written by Dr. Logica. I hope you enjoy it, as it is a Jaune centered fic.

Jaune gasped for air, any that he could possibly pull into his depleted lungs. He heard quick rhythmic footsteps that grew louder and louder, and he knew what that entailed. Placing both palms on the ground, he pushed himself up. He looked up, fearing the worst; and he was right. A red-headed amazoness hit him with Akoúo, throwing him backwards again. He rolled into the concrete wall of the roof, and once again felt that there wasn't any air in his lungs. He stood up more quickly this time, and he raised his shield. His eyes found his sword, on the ground about three meters away . Pyrrha caught his glance and kicked the hilt, sending it spinning away, as she raised Miló and pulled the trigger. Jaune raised his shield and used his aura to strengthen it, making an extra layer of hard light expand so the javelin wouldn't be able to hit. Pyrrha smiled lightly as her spear was deflected, but she continued her onslaught by charging forward and ripping the shield from his hands with her semblance. Jaune, now disarmed and defenseless, backed away. Pyrrha picked up her downed weapon and mecha-shifted it into sword form. She clicked her tongue a little while walking forward slowly, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Jaune, when you have no weapons allow your aura to become a weapon," she said with a sigh. Jaune found that there was nowhere else to back into, he was on the edge. Pyrrha continued to advance until she was up in his face.

"Hi Pyrrha, heh heh," he chuckled a little. She smiled back, and reached up to poke his nose. Jaune's eyes crossed while attempting to keep it in sight, and he began to stutter ever so slightly. "uh, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," Pyrrha said, poking him. She then jabbed him in the gut with her shield, sending him tumbling over the edge. Jaune screamed as he fell tumbling down, flailing his arms to grab a handhold or anything to keep him from dying. Jaune tried to center his thoughts, but met little success. The problem on his mind stayed in his mind, and it didn't have any room for anything else. He conjured the image of a grappling hook in his mind, trying to use his aura to form a projection. He struggled for a few seconds, but he realised it wasn't working. The ground was approaching fast, and he guessed the grappling hook was his last bid for life. Or was it? Something simpler than a grappling hook maybe. A large glowing hand formed meters from his own, and it latched onto a window sill. It jerked his arm violently, but Jaune could accept that over death. He sighed heavily, hanging from someone's window.

"I'm so sorry Jaune, I didn't try to knock you off, I just wanted to scare you! Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? I was told that-"

Jaune cut her off mid sentence. "Pyrrha, you're rambling. I realise it was an accident, but don't let it happen again. If I hadn't managed to do.. whatever I did, who knows what would have happened?" The normally confident amazon was rather downcast, but perked up slightly at his words.

"Jauney! I heard you were in the medical wing. Did you get injured? I worry about Ren being injured. I keep having dreams where we fight off hordes of Ursi; maybe we could do a reenactment? We might have to go to the emerald forest, I bet there are loads of Beowolves in there." Nora bounded into the room, with her green-clad partner close behind. Jaune and Pyrrha managed to block out the hyper ginger, as Ren made his way over to the bed. A smile crept onto Jaune's face, lifting his spirits. Suddenly, a large crashing noise reverberated through the room.

"Ummm," Jaune said, looking to his team. Whatever he would've said was cut off as a blur of red and yellow smashed through the ceiling, knocking the standing member of JNPR onto the ground. "Ruby? Yang?" Jaune asked. There was a lot of layers between the dorms, and the medical wing, so whatever knocked them down here must have been strong. "How did you get down here?" he asked. Ruby sat up, still dizzy, and gave them a sheepish look.

"Well, we sorta had an argument with Weiss, and it didn't end well…" Jaune conjured up an image of an angry Weiss, not just normal angry Weiss, but an angry Weiss that could easily bust through ten floors of solid concrete. He shivered slightly to make it go away. She was strong, probably one of the many reasons why he liked her.

"Jaune," he heard someone say. He snapped back to reality and saw Yang looking at him. His eyes began to drift downward but he snapped them back up to her face at her angry look. "What happened to you?" Yang asked. Jaune sighed and gestured to his arm in its sling.

"I got knocked off the roof," he said nonchalantly, trying to make himself seem a little cooler.

"What?!" Nora shrieked, dusting herself off while jumping around like an energetic puppy. "That's so COOL! Did a Beowolf knock you off? No! It must've been like in Red vs. Blue when the big spaceships all like 'firing main cannon' and then the building explodes like Bam! And then you probably fell off and Falling Towards the Sky plays and a pelican comes and rescues you on and stuff!" she yelled, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him up and down. Jaune let out a little grunt from the sudden motion and he tried to talk.

"Training… No air… Let go!" he finally gasped out. Ren pulled Nora away and began to whisper to her while Jaune got his breath back. "Yang, Ruby, you should probably get moving." he said while looking upward. Following his eyes, the two teams saw a blur of white zooming down the hole that the sisters had made. A glyph appeared in the air that stopped the heiress' fall short. Her heels clicked quietly as her feet hit the tile. She still had an aura of rage around her as she stalked towards them, her eyes focused on Ruby and Yang.

"You two," she said, her body quaking with silent anger. Jaune made a squeaking noise not unlike a rat's last cry.

"Just calm down Ice Queen, it was just a prank," Yang said backing away from the enraged girl. Ruby poked her index fingers together and followed suit, making a kind of nervous giggle.

"I'm sure we can fix your bed later" soothed Ruby. "You can use mine while I sleep on the ground if you like," she said, trying to reason.

"I agreed to bunk beds! I didn't say anything about graffiti and defiling it! Those sheets were made of the finest cotton and wool!" She yelled. Just then, a nurse poked her into the room.

"Can you please keep it down, there are patients who value the little sleep they get," she said sternly. Weiss frowned and crossed her arms, but as she turned to face Yang and Ruby again, they were gone. She growled and sprinted out the door, probably trying to find them. jaune sighed, not at the whole scene but just at the fact that the nurse didn't notice the hole in the ceiling. He turned his head and saw Pyrrha standing up, then looking at him.

"So again, I really am sorry Jaune," she said sitting on his bedside looking into his eyes. Jaune felt a kind of awkward moment gather up, but Nora quickly ended it.

"Um, so what did happen?" she asked. Jaune sighed and began to recount it all.

Thrush walked towards the rest of his team, sighing slightly. He didn't really know why he put up with the rest of them, much less go along with what they did. Probably acceptance, Cardin came from a powerful family and he could leech some of that. But he figured he knew the real reason, Cardin was actually a nice guy at some point. He didn't know why, but something in the Forever Fall had changed him. Ever since they'd abandoned him to the mercy of the Ursa, any kindness he had for his team even had just left him. But still, Thrush wondered what in the Emerald Forest had transformed Cardin into the bully he was.

"Russel," he heard someone call. He sighed and looked over at Cardin. "We've got some stuff to do tonight, I think you know what I mean," he said. The days when Cardin had warmth in his voice were over. Russell nodded slowly as Cardin began to speak the devious plot he had concocted. It was what Russell expected. Revenge.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Payback

A/n: So this fic actually got more response than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, I am not as inspired to continually update when I don't get feedback, so Skyrim might end up dominating more time then this fic. I'm not holding the story hostage, but I'm just saying.

Jaune woke up suddenly, looking around some unknown place. There was a lot of fog, and he could hear heavy, ominous breathing. He stood up slowly, hand on his sword. Turning his head, he realised he didn't know where he was. Wasn't he just in Goodwitch's class? The breathing began to get heavier, and Jaune jumped when he began to hear cackling. He drew his sword and the shield jumped onto his forearm.

"I'm not afraid!" he said, barely able to hold his weapons from how much his arm was shaking. The figure circled him twice, getting closer and closer. Jaune unintentionally spun to face the figure, which resulted in some dizziness.

"So you're the great hero, not much. How does one like you cause so much harm?" the figure asked. It's voice was deep and baritone, completely lifeless.

"Wh- What do you want?" he asked, dropping the act of being brave. A trident was summoned into the hands of the demon out of thin air, and it used it to hold Jaune up against a wall that rose suddenly out of the earth.

"So you're the one who'll bring forth so much darkness," the voice said in a lifeless baritone. Jaune gripped the trident, trying to pull it away from his throat. "Struggle all you want Arc," the monster said. "Soon you will be at a crossroad, when the beast awakens. You will help end the world, or save it. But either way, what you treasure most will die!" the whole scene faded into blur of swirling darkness, and suddenly everything became bright.

"Mr. Arc, I'd appreciate it if you stayed awake during class," Glynda snapped. Jaune looked from side to side and realised he was in the middle of Semblance training class. "I suppose since you didn't bother to listen you already know what's being discussed," she said, glaring at him. Jaune nodded slowly, and chuckled nervously. Glynda nodded. "Alright then Mr. Arc, then I suppose you can demonstrate your semblance." Jaune stood up slowly, not really knowing what to do. He stood awkwardly for a second, and he caught Pyrrha's gaze from across the room. She made a shield gesture, and not for the first time he misinterpreted it. he picked up his textbook from his desk and placed it over his arm.

"Shield," he stuttered. The class burst into raucous laughter, and even Ms. Goodwitch struggled to keep a smile off her face.

"Ms. Nikos, perhaps you'd like to give Mr. Arc a hand?" Goodwitch asked. Pyrrha nodded and stood up confidently. Jaune wished he had her stance and self-esteem. She held her palm up in the direction of the shield mounted on the wall ahead of him, and she closed her eyes. It levitated over to her, and she grabbed it from the air. Ms. Goodwitch nodded slowly, and continued her lectures. Jaune let out a sigh, and slumped into his seat. Pyrrha looked over and sighed, saddened. It seemed he wasn't really taking in much of what she taught him, aside from a few combat abilities he took to easily. She followed suit and slumped into her seat, wishing he would actually pay attention to her. Wait what? To her, or her training. Both, she guessed.

Weiss looked angrily at her bed, pristine white linen and wool scattered across the room, defiled by black permanent ink marker. There were random drawings of spiders, cats, and zombies. Ruby's contribution was obvious, given the amount of cookie pictures. She remembered waking up, the markered spider looking so real, and letting out a blood-curdling scream that must have woken up the rest of the school.

"I must say you did have it coming" remarked her black clad roommate. "You've treated them harshly since the beginning, and they haven't once snapped at you." Weiss whirled around, about to reprimand Blake when she realised that she was right.

"I know I was mean, but this?" Weiss gestured to the room. "I don't think this was called for." Blake acquiesced slightly at the heiress' downtrodden expression.

"Tell you what, I'll help you get them back. We've been so caught up in school work we forgot to have fun- and besides, nobody can beat me at prank wars." Blake put her book back up and blocked her face. Weiss grinned slightly as evil thoughts of payback and revenge flooded her head.

Cardin slipped the note under Team JNPR's door and cackled. It had taken a while to forge Pyrrha's handwriting, but it was going to pay off in the end. That punk was tough, but he'd looked into how Jaune had killed the Ursa. If he didn't have Pyrrha or his team, he wouldn't be able to win any fights whatsoever. What better time to bruise him? He looked to Dove, Russell and Sky. "Revenge is best served cold," he said, looking out to the light blanket of snow covering the grounds.

Jaune pushed the door open slowly, undoing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. he kicked off his shoes and walked to his desk, putting down the books he'd been assigned to read and write papers on. He stretched out a bit as he dressed in more casual clothes, when his eye caught hold of a small envelope. He strode towards it and he leaned down, pickin

g it up and turning it in his hand. Jaune, it said. He sat down at the desk and peeled it open, unfolding the crisp white paper. His eyes scanned over it quickly, widening. He gaped and fell backwards, ignoring the pain. He was shocked. He didn't know his team felt this way. He stood up and nearly fell back down again, his legs shaking. The girl he had fallen so hard for had flat out rejected him, and hadn't even told him to his face. Shredding the note to pieces, he dashed out the door of their dorm, heading for the training center. If they saw him as a weak person, he'd have to train harder.

Team JNPR was worried. In the past week, Jaune had gone out of his way to avoid them, spending most of his time pushing himself in the training center. It had gotten so bad Ms. Goodwitch had pulled Ren aside after class to speak about it, since Jaune had disappeared as soon as the bell rang. Ren had then confided in Blake, asking her to try and speak to the boy if she got the chance, given how much if her schedule had been taken up by team RWBY's escalating prank war.

So here Blake was, sitting in the rafters watching the blonde haired boy tear through training robots. She had briefly considered stopping the boy when he set the bots to the hardest difficulty, but was quite glad she didn't given the display before her. The knight became a whirlwind of death, his blade singing as it tore through steel like paper. It was like a dance, a rhythm of swinging and dodging so fluid it looked like he had been training for years. A perfectly executed spin beheaded one drone, while a solid kick to the sternum sent the other flying into a window. Folding his shield into a sheath and tucking away his sword, Blake chose this moment to drop down. Readying his weapon on instinct before realising who it was, he relaxed slightly.

"What are you doing here Blake?" Questioned Jaune, putting away his sword again. The girl in black was about to speak, but faltered at his eyes. The normally peaceful blue eyes were filled with gut-wrenching sadness. She wondered what on earth could cause someone so happy to look like this.

"I came to speak to you. Your teammates are worried about you, Jaune. They want to know why you've been avoiding worry about you; come back to them." At this he went from shattered to enraged in the blink of an eye.

"Worried? Why would they be worried? They don't care about me." At Blake's shocked expression, he whipped out his scroll and handed it to her. "They left this message for me the other day. They don't want a weak team leader like me." Walking away, he was in in the doorway before she called out to him.

"You know, I thought you were smart, or at least smarter than this." She called out. "Do you really think that your friends would betray you?" Jaune whirled back around, wanting but not believing what she was saying.

"How do you explain the note then? It's obviously in Pyrrha's handwriting." Blake walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I think you've been tricked. There's only one person that hates you enough to try and ruin you." The blonde thought briefly, before coming to a realisation.

"CARDIN!"

"Cardin you assbasket," Jaune said, blocking the older boys way in the hall. Cardin stepped forward and loomed over him. The rest of his team cast nervous glances as they watched their leader pull out his mace.

"What're you going to do about it?" Cardin challenged. Unlike Jaune, who was clothed in his battle gear, Cardin was only wearing his school uniform. Jaune unsheathed his sword, and his sheath mecha-shifted into shield form.

"Fight you," Jaune sid before charging forwards and swinging downwards in a vertical arc at Carin's head. Cardin swung his mace and deflected the blow, also effectively knocking the sword from Jaune's hands. Jaune raised his shield and deflected Cardin's side strike, and then he slid towards his sword. He scooped it up quickly and went into a defensive stance, keeping his vulnerable spots behind his shield. Cardin sprinted forward and jumped, using the added momentum to power his already strong sweep. Jaune blocked it head on and was sent sliding back, still on his feet. Jaune noticed that Cardin had left an opening to his right ribs, so he sprinted and thrust, jabbing at Cardin's exposed area. Before he could though, a loud sound like a thunderclap went off and Jaune flew back down the hall and onto his back. Jaune tried to get up but he felt a boot crush down on his chest.

"Oh Jauney boy, did you like my semblance? Maybe you should've taken that into account before you fought me," he said, digging his heel into the boy. "And guess what? The red head can't save you now!" he shouted, raising his mace high. Suddenly, a red spear hit Cardin in the back and threw him off of Jaune. Jaune heard an excited scream, a loud snapping, and Cardin crying out in pain. Did Nora just break his legs?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Illusions

A/N: Thanks for your feed back, Nightshade and I really appreciate it and the feedback keeps us churning through reasearch and delivering new chapters. We even work on it at school, deleting and editing each other's work to make it good. I hope you enjoy this action-packed chapter!

-4rgemonger and Dr. Logica/ Blake Nightshade

With a horrific cracking sound, Cardin used his aura to heal his legs to an extent where he could stand. As the two armor clad boys circled each other, a crowd had gathered, forming an arena of sorts. Neither made any sort of move towards their opponent, simply observing for now. After the third minute, Cardin leapt forward, with a swing that would have smashed the smaller boy into a pulp if not for a timely roll.

Jaune retaliated with a quick flurry of strikes, pausing only to avoid another life threatening blow. Cardin poured his fury into his blows, losing them accuracy but adding a huge bonus to strength and power. Fortunately, Jaune was able to dodge them easily. After a particularly heavy diagonal swipe Cardin had opened himself up yet again. Cardin was too repetitive, Jaune thought with a smirk. Jaune used his sword like an epee, plunging in towards his heart.

As Jaune lunged, Cardin reacted faster than the eye could see, punching him across the chest and making a neat man shaped hole in the building next to them. Following him in, Cardin completely disregarded the class and Ms. Goodwitch, his blood rage guiding him toward his foe. Striding towards Jaune, he swang again, a brutal left hook and an uppercut that left a battered blonde slumped against a bench. As Cardin was about to hit him again, Jaune started muttering in some sort of language that the taller boy didn't recognise.

"What's up blondie? Praying to your god?" Cardin sneered. Crouching at eye level with Jaune, he was startled when the boy looked up, blue eyes ablaze.

"Aura release level one!" Jaune yelled, a blue firestorm exploding out from his chest. It was good that Goodwitch thought to put up her strongest dust shield over the students, given that the classroom and connecting corridors were leveled. Cardin was flying as well, before Bluefire chains wrapped around his limbs. "Going somewhere?" It was Jaune's turn to sneer, as he unleashed an onslaught of blows, battering and bruising Cardin. "For a week, I doubted my team, and myself!" He accompanied each statement with a series of blows. "I thought that they hated me! That I was too weak to be their leader! If one good thing came out of this week, it would be that I finally managed to sort out my feelings towards certain people in this school, yourself included. You have too many things to answer for; prepare yourself." As he unsheathed Crocea Mors, Jaune felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Jaune?"

He whirled around, sending the flames into a flurry, only to come face to face with a frightened Pyrrha. "Jaune, you're scaring us. This isn't the team leader we know, nor the boy I've come to be friends with. You've done enough to him, just let him go." The intensity of the Bluefire grew as Jaune became angry,before he noticed something. He had always been able to read her like a book, and had come to recognise a wide array of her emotions. He had seen many directed his way, from embarrassment to envy, but never pure, unadulterated fear. The fire flickered once, before petering out.

"I'm sorry," Jaune said quietly. He looked into his good friends eyes and saw them brighten ever so slightly. She managed a weak smile, and she placed his hand on his shoulder.

"So cute, but Cardin needs the infirmary, and you've… interrupted this class," Ms. Goodwitch huffed. Both Jaune and Pyrrha looked around at the many eyes staring intently at the two, and they both rushed out of the room blushing furiously.

"They make a nice couple," Yang told her little sister as she watched the pair vacate. She didn't know why, but that set something off in her. She ignored it though, and fixed her gaze on Ruby. The younger girl looked furious, jealous, and embarrassed all at once. "Woah, why the face Rubes?" Yang asked. Ruby snapped her head around suddenly, let out an angry humph, and went back to randomly scribbling on a piece of paper. Yang leaned in to see what she was writing, and was honestly quite surprised. There were random plans numbered from one to twenty ranging from love potions to getting Pyrrha drunk. At the top of the paper big and bolded, were the words 'Plans to Break Jaune and Pyrrha Up'. "Oh, I see," Yang said, though she didn't press.

Thrush looked at himself in the mirror and wondered who he was looking at. In the past two months he'd stopped gelling his hair and shaving it, so it grew out and covered his head and ears. It wasn't long like Sky, but he quite liked it. He'd also gained a little weight, so instead of appearing as a toothpick he actually had the physique of a fighter. He sighed and stalked out of CRDL's room, covering a yawn. He walked down the halls slowly, knowing in his heart what he had to do. The realisation had hit him last night when he was taking one of his walks through the courtyard. Team CRDL wasn't what it could've been. They'd had potential and kindness in them, but Cardin's wrath had ruined that. He turned a corner and saw what he was looking for. Cardin was busy bullying Velvet again.

"Cardin!" Thrush shouted. Cardin turned suddenly in panic, afraid it was Jaune. Luckily it was just his good friend and teammate.

"Just in time Russell, help me tie her ears together," he laughed. Velvet cried in protest and tried to run, but Cardin had a hand clamped on her left ear.

"No," Thrush said simply.

"Wait what?" Cardin asked in shock. His face grew tense and he clenched his free fist.

"Hell no," Thrush said again, in a stronger voice. "I'm done being your mindless moron who laughs at your crap jokes and who helps you whenever you're an ass," he said, courage suddenly pumping through his vein like a combat steroid. Thrush pulled his two short swords from their sheaths.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day that you pulled Feather and Fall on me," Cardin smirked, letting go of Velvet. She then ran, crying. Cardin produced his own weapon and brandished it menacingly. Thrush got into his combat stance, left leg out and Fall covering while Feather was at the ready. A jet of green air blasted Thrush forward, his semblance getting him air and speed to increase the fatality of his dual-sword Thrush-Bird Strike. Cardin swung his mace and knocked Thrush from the sky, sending him flying back against a wall.

"I didn't get burned by Jaune today to lose to my own team mate," Cardin growled. He trudged towards the prone Thrush, palm out. He blasted a tremor of energy, blowing up the wall and knocking Thrush out the second story. Thrush gusted back in through the hole and delivered a powerful slash against Cardin's chest plate. Cardin fell backwards but rolled to his feet. Thrush returned to his stance and prepared for Cardin's next blow. Cardin stared at Thrush and roared. Thrush lowered his weapons momentarily, and he immediately heard snapping noises from all over his body. He fell to his knees, blood pouring from his mouth. Cardin walked to him and tapped his forehead. Thrush fell onto his back, groaning in pain and coughing up blood. Cardin smirked and turned, seeing Jaune standing there.

"What did I tell you Cardin?" Jaune asked angrily.

"I'm not fighting you again," Cardin growled, taking a wide stance.

"He won't have to," A low voice said from behind Cardin. Cardin turned and glared at Thrush, brandishing his swords in their mecha-shifted forms. They were now sawed-offs, and Thrush had killer intent in his eyes. Cardin looked at him and laughed.

"What are you going to do?" he asked challengingly. Thrush sprinted forwards and shot at Cardin's head, who in turn had to roll out of the way of the kill shot. Thrush fired his second shotgun and hit Cardin, and was rewarded with a cry of pain from his leader. The shotguns mecha-shifted back into swords, which Thrush sheathed. He noticed Jaune was staring at him, jaw hanging down.

"You boys cause a lot of trouble," Ozpin said suddenly from the doorway, casting his gaze from the hole in the wall to the two bloodied boys. "In my office in three hours please," he said before sipping his coffee.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- a Stern Lecture

A/N: This story is doing really well. Only three chapters and I already have 21 follows. I am very happy. But Blake's just a jerk, he has much more popular stories. -.- I don't care Blake.

Ozpin strode back and forth in front of teams RWBY, CRDL and JNPR

"You have been causing nothing but trouble for the past month," Ozpin scolded as he walked past the teams, sipping his coffee. "Team RWBY and their prank wars. Team JNPR and your constant feud with CRDL. It has to all stop. You already damaged too much school property, and scared enough innocent students. SO…" Ozpin paused to take a sip of his coffee. "I've brought a baby sitter, Team RWBY knows him," Ozpin said. Blake suddenly perked up and turned her head to the doorway. A familiar faunus boy strode in smiling, turning his gaze to the three teams.

"Hey guys," Sun said. Weiss let out an audible grunt, and Cardin began to laugh.

"A faunus is going to be keeping an eye on us?" He managed, and he gasped for air. After a few seconds his face grew grim. "I don't think so," he said coldly. Nora jumped from her seat and smiled at him. Cardin leaned back in his chair in a panic, causing it to lean a little too far back and dropping him onto the floor. He scrambled back and clutched the chair to his chest, squeaking like a frightened mouse. "DON'T LET HER BREAK MY LEGS AGAIN!" he screamed, almost sobbing.

"She doesn't even have her hammer." Thrush sighed.

"Oh, I didn't use my hammer last time," Nora sneered wickedly. "These hands have multiple uses," she laughed evilly.

"Nora calm!" Ren shouted pulling her down and papping her lightly. She gave him a look like a saddened puppy and sat back down. Sun maintained a constant grin and laughed slightly on occasion. He didn't miss the glares Weiss shot in his direction, but he ignored them by sending smiles to Blake.

"As you know, the tournament begins next week," Ozpin suddenly said, quieting the rest of the room. "I hope all of you are prepared to participate, as it's an easier way to take out your aggression without destroying the campus. That, and you don't really have a choice; think of it as a detention of sorts. Tomorrow, the teams from other schools arrive, and I want your teams to join team Seraph in greeting them."

"Who?" Jaune asked suddenly. He was aware of the many other teams, but not a Seraph.

"Team Seraph," Ozpin repeated. "SRPH, as it's usually known as." Ozpin concluded as he took another sip from his coffee. "Some of the teams you'll meet won't be likeable, but you may only attack them in the tournament. Now, you all need to get to class," Ozpin said.

Pyrrha wasn't oblivious to it. Ever since team Cardinal's awful prank, Jaune had changed a lot. It wasn't drastic, he was just a little more centered and he had this kind of cold flame in his eyes. She dipped her hand in the cold water of the fountain, sighing to herself. Then in the following months he'd started doing seriously better in class, and he always won his duels. But he wasn't the same charming boy she had fallen in love with. She couldn't deny he'd become more attractive, she'd had to deal with more than a few girls staring at him in the cafeteria. But she had fallen for his boyish looks, and his noble heart, not this ruthless warrior.

"Pyrrha," she heard suddenly. SHe turned her head and locked eyes with the alleged ruthless warrior.

"Oh, Jaune," she said, not sure whether to feel excited or saddened. Her feelings on her brave leader were mixed as of late. She couldn't mix the look of sorrow coming from his eyes, radiating in his aura. "What's the matter?" she asked hesitantly. Jaune sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"Who am I?" Jaune asked. Pyrrha was taken aback. "I used to know, sure I hated it, but I knew who I was and where I belonged. But now… I'm confused." Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"You're Jaune Arc, a true hero," she smiled. "Its been lost in that darkness, but your still the same. Remember JAune, a warrior doesn't have to be cold and merciless," she told him. He looked up at her and let out another sigh.

"But look what I've become," he said. Pyrrha giggled.

"Hot," she said. Jaune fell backwards into the water of the fountain. He pulled himself out and for a moment Pyrrha saw the old Jaune. ANd it seemed to stay.

"Wait what?" he asked as he sat himself down and wrung his sleeves. Pyrrha giggled again and looked away. "Oh I see how it is," Jaune grumbled. Pyrrha turned to face him and did the most extraordinary thing. She leaned in and put her lips to his.

Ruby glared at the spectacle angrily. SHe looked at a clipboard and began crossing out plans that were written down. She circled one and began to laugh quietly.

"You'll be mine Arc," she said slyly. SHe felt a tug on her hood and was jerked back. She gasped as she landed hard. "Oww, Yang what's your problem?" she asked slightly irritated.

"You're killing the mood," the taller girl said. SHe looked back to the couple, who were now walking off, hands linked. "So cute," she smiled. "And Jaune really is a hottie," she said a little wistfully.

"WHAT?!" Ruby screamed. latching onto her sister's arm. "NO!" she cried. Yang smiled.

"Sorry sis, but I guess we can have a little contest," Yang grinned slyly, just as Ruby had done earlier.

A/N: Yeah, that was a shorter chapter, but a lot happened. Story Arc (bad pun) one is now concluded, so we can get on to the main plot next chapter. By the way, this is a JaunexPyrrha fic, but who says it'll always be that way? Not me. :D Leave a review, I really love reading constructive criticism and reviews that don't just tell me to update, and reading them really brightens my day. 4rge out!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Arc 2- Seraphs

A/N: Do not question my choices of shipping! There will be Arkos, but it ain't gonna stay Arkos! It will be more than not though… **Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews, and my humblest apologies for 4rgemonger's mood (A jerk? Really?). I do feel bad for all you Arkos shippers… it would be a shame if Pyrrha died…**

**Oh don't worry, we're not that evil. **

**Blake**

Solomon looked over the three other teams that were here to greet the contending teams for the tournament. He pushed his chocolate- brown bangs away from his eyes and nodded in consent slowly. He'd heard a lot about this Jaune fellow, but he'd never actually met him. Solomon Grenari was tall, and by some standards handsome. But he too often wallowed in his self pity to actually care or notice. His past was too dark, and there was no light in the dark: for dark always envelops any light.

"I am Solomon Grenari," he said to the twelve first-years. "Today we will be greeting our competitors, as I'm sure you know. I'll have you know, several of them won't be as kind as we'd like… but it's our responsibility to be nice. On no condition is there to be any unauthorized fighting between visiting schools. Am I clear?" he let that sink in for a moment before he got a yes from all of the students, besides the tall one with broad shoulders. Solomon looked over at Raisa and jabbed his thumb at the offending boy. He mouthed the word prick, and that rewarded him with a slight chuckle. "Now time for introductions," Solomon said as he noticed the dust planes approaching from above the Emerald forest.

"I'm Raisa Christo," said Solomon's partner. Raisa was a chocolate skinned girl, at about 6 feet.

"Toon Budd," said a short girl with a scowl on her face. The tallest of the bunch punched her on the shoulder, and smiled at everyone else.

"I'm Hanna Isla, but my friends call me Beast," she said heartily. She stood over even Raisa, and a combination of the insane smile and large halberd on her back was enough to scare the younger years.

"Is that a halberd?" asked Ruby, with a shiny look in her eyes. Hanna smiled and pulled the weapon off her back. As she held it, it shifted into a double-barreled shotgun the size of her arm, with looks remarkably similar to the Olympia. Ruby started to squeal, and sprint around in circles. This was stopped by Yang, who had to physically restrain the younger girl. Solomon saw the dust planes were nearly at the landing pad and pointed.

"Here they are," he said. The huge machines hovered and extended their landing gear, slowly setting down. Jaune had a hard time controlling his anxiety. He was worried the teams that came forth would be like CRDL, well besides Thrush. He and the green haired boy had started up an uneasy friendship of sorts. The first figure to exit the adjacent dust plane was a hulking figure clad in thick, heavy armor. The mail covered their entire self, and there was no openings to reveal who they were at all.

"Kalgar Blackheart of team KAOS," the voice boomed through the grille at the front of his faceplate. "My team and I are here to participate in the tournament."

"Why else would you be here?" Solomon asked jokingly.

"Maybe to kick the asses of smart aleks like you." Apparently the humor wasn't appreciated.

"Your rooms are here," Solomon said awkwardly handing the huge beast of steel a map.

"They get maps?" Jaune asked hurtfully while looking over at Ruby. She chortled slightly and shook her head mockingly. For a while the teams were average, wimpy looking, or nice, but not really noteworthy. You know, if you ignored the massive guy in the armor. But one of the last teams to file out caught everyone's eye. A boy with too much muscle stalked forward, each heavy step making reverberating noises he glowered at Solomon.

"Team Bronze is here to smash you," he growled. Jaune looked at his red eyes and shook off the urge to whimper. Solomon handed him a map and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too" he said courteously. The taller boy chuckled.

"It'll be nice to rend each of your limbs and the take a bite out of your heart," he said. Solomon swallowed loudly. The brazen-skinned boy stalked off, his team at his heels.

"That went well," Yang proclaimed loudly.

(**Fluff time! Yay!) **

Jaune held Pyrrha's hand and looked up into the night sky. The tournament started tomorrow, but the only thing on his mind was on the red headed Amazoness resting on his shoulder. He looked over at her, curled up peacefully, and he smiled. He kissed the top of her head, but as he was pulling away he heard a slight gasp. He stood up suddenly, dropping Pyrrha who woke up a little startled. He looked over, and his eyes found a red cloak disappearing round a corner.

"Ruby!" he shouted. "Come back!" He didn't get a response, so he turned back to Pyrrha who was rubbing her head and groaning. Pyrrha glared up at him.

"Her schoolgirls crush really annoys me," she said.

"She has a crush on me?" At his girlfriend's nod, Jaune sighed and helped her up. "I had no idea," Jaune said astounded, shaking his head. Pyrrha laughed.

"It's because you're oblivious to everything," she laughed. Jaune blushed, knowing she was right, though he wouldn't admit it openly. Pyrrha punched him on the arm then blushed and looked away. "But it makes you cuter," she said quietly. Jaune didn't catch that though, he was too busy pondering the Ruby issue. He'd seen the looks she'd given him on other girls, but he used to not know what they meant. So apparently he was popular with the girls, but he didn't care. He already had a girl in his life. Jaune pulled Pyrrha into a hug and looked back into the stars. "I wonder who we'll fight in the tournament tomorrow," Pyrrha said randomly. "I don't want to fight anyone on team Bronze," she said.

"Yeah I know what you mean," Jaune said exhaling. "The guy in black armor was pretty bad too," he added.

"I want to fight someone that I already know. So I can assess their techniques and predict what they'll do next," she said leaning against him and closing her eyes. Jaune stroked her hair slowly and began to breathe more slowly. "What are you scared of?" Pyrrha asked out of the blue. Jaune let her go and took a step back.

"Everything," he said pointing at Pyrrha. "This is my first time dating a girl and I'm just making it up as I go," he said. Pyrrha giggled and looked at him funny.

"You make it sound like we're about to have sex or something," she laughed. Jaune turned red from his hair to his toes, freezing up.

"It did sound like that during the massage last night." Jaune blushed again, knowing it was the truth. "You have magical hands," Pyrrha said sighing. It was pyrrha's turn to blush. "Wait no, no, I didn't mean anything by that don't take it the wrong way!" she screeched quickly never taking a breath. Yang chuckled behind the wall she currently crouched behind.

"So much blackmail material," Yang laughed. "Then I can split them, and Jaune will be mine!"

"Do you always monologue like this?" Blake asked, who was currently reading beside the blonde.

"Quiet Blake," they'll hear us," Yang shushed. She peeked up over the wall and gasped. Blake raised an eyebrow. "They're totally banging," Yang whispered.

"What?!" Blake cried out. SHe threw her book aside and looked over the wall. The couple was just walking off. Blake turned to Yang angrily, ignoring the laughter. "That wasn't funny," Blake said. Yang continued to laugh undeterred.

"That was hilarious!" she laughed, clutching her gut and rolling on the ground. "Your face...It was priceless!" Blake grumbled and bent over to pick up the book, and then she stormed off.

A/N: I apologise for the dirtiness of the chapter. It was unbecoming of me, and entirely inappropriate. And like most of my outbursts it was stemmed with alcohol… JK. Anywho, the apology is real, but I wanted to add fluff and comedy, and I figured referencing HT'Rarpee's massages would be funny (it was Blake's idea). The next few chapters will have M content in them, as the tournament will be brutal and gory, but not to an extreme extent like Warhammer 40k novels. SO anyway, 4rge out!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- Round One

A/N: Well I'm quite happy with the responses this story is getting, but I just got Sims 3 so without a lot of reviews I might have to push this thing to lower on my list of things to do. But the tournament will be fun, so let's go! **Disclaimer: We own neither RWBY or Sword Art Online, but if we did, we'd probably still write fanfiction. For the time being, Pyrrha and Jaune will be shipped, but they will break up and get back together multiple times throughout the story. 4rge and I are quite avid blondies shippers, so expect a bit of that.**

Jaune drew Crocea Mors and took a breath, widening his stance and staring down his opponent. The red-headed scythe wielder in front of him had an untraditional stance, and generally used excessive amounts of her semblance to out speed her opponent. Jaune raised his sword and charged, his aura surrounding the blade and enlarging it. He chopped vertically, forcing Ruby to dodge back. She retaliated by mecha-shifting Crescent Rose into sniper form and started firing at the blond knight. Jaune raised his shield and heard the comforting sound of bullets dinging off of the shield, and when he heard her begin to reload he lowered the shield and sprinted forwards, raising his blade high. He roared, and he thrust the blade forward with all his might. Spinning her scythe in a circle, she easily blocked his blow, then backed off instead of pushing the advantage. Jaune sheathed his sword and cracked his knuckles, grinning like a mad-man.

"You ready for this Ruby?" he asked. Unarmed fighting was a rather rare skill in a world dominated by deadly beasts. But Jaune had taken on a number of skills since the 'incident,' hand to hand being one of them. Despite this, Ruby was confident in her semblance's abilities; you can't hit what isn't there! Ruby placed Crescent Rose back in its holder, and got into stance. Jaune walked forward slowly, leaving everything open. Ruby took this chance and sped forward, placing a blow on his jaw. Jaune caught her fist mid-air and threw her to the ground. He smiled at her and backed away. "C'mon Ruby," he laughed, surprised he'd handled himself so well. "That all you can do?"Ruby grunted angrily and pulled out Crescent Rose, shouting as she sprinted forwards. She slashed, and too late realised this wasn't a good idea. The blade raked across Jaune's face diagonally, opening a huge gash from his temple to his chin. Jaune cried out in pain as he crumpled to the floor, trying to use his aura to heal him. But he'd used too much on his shield and sword. Medics brought out a stretcher and put Jaune on it as he screamed. Pyrrha clutched the railing angrily, looking down on Ruby with bitter contempt and disgust. Ruby looked around, lost for words.

"But I didn't… I… It wasn't supposed to…" Ruby tried to say, but Yang placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her out of the arena.

"Let's go," she said simply. Ruby looked up at her big sister and back at the ground.

"I really messed up," she said sadly. "I lost my temper, and hurt him pretty bad." Ruby sighed and Yang pulled her into a warm hug.

"It's okay Rubes," she said reassuringly. "We've all made mistakes, but we can't live in fear of them. Besides, Jaune's a strong boy. He'll heal. But you're going to have to work hard to mend your relationships with JNPR," she said. Ruby nodded and sighed as they left the arena for the hour long break between matches.

As team RWBY walked down the street, Weiss suddenly tensed and pulled her team in close, pretending to look at a shop window.

"We're being followed. 30 ft down the street, black hooded coat." She whispered.

"Black trenchcoat?" Asked Blake. "Short, under 6 ft?" AT Weiss's nod she pulled away and started sprinting down the street. She bounded towards the cloaked figure, and tackled him with a… hug? "Kirito!" Barely managing to stay upright, the hooded boy holding Blake tightly. As the pair stood there, the rest of team RWBY caught up.

"Wait, who is this?" Ruby panted, trying to catch her breath. "You two seem to know each other _quite_ well," she said suspiciously.

"Ruby! Kirito-kun is just a friend!" Blake yelled at the Scythe wielder, not having let go of Kirito yet.

"Yup, that's definitely all," Yang smiled, looking at the two.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Neko?" Kirito asked, pulling out of the hug..

"Neko?" Yang asked, stifling a laugh.

"Yes, it suits her quite well in my opinion," Kirito said glancing down at the blushing feline.. "And you are?"

"Yang Xiao Long," said the blonde-brawler. "The lady who's gonna break your legs if you hurt my friend." Kirito laughed at her remark and put his arm around his old friend's hip.

"For the last time, we're not dating, and I don't plan on hurting her; not sure if she can say the same about me."

"Oh yes, about that" Blake reached up and slapped him "You left me in the middle of a forest! Alone!" Snarling, Yang stalked angrily towards the cloaked boy.

"First few minutes and you're already testing my patience," said Yang. "I say we rough him up a little." Kirito took a step back from Blake and pulled out two swords from sheaths at his back.

"Don't test me," he said, a cold steel suddenly present in his voice.

"Kirito! Don't insult my friends! You're in enough trouble as it is. Now, what do you say we go get something to eat; this can wait for a bit." At Blake's comment Kirito perked up.

"Let's go!" Dragging Blake by the arm, the last thing team RWBY heard before they went round the corner was a yelp of surprise and a yelled "You're paying!" from the black haired girl.

"I'm here for the tournament," Kirito explained as he took a gulp of soda and put the cup down. "I'm technically a solo contestant since Aincrad Academy doesn't do teams or partners; well, not in the traditional sense." he sunk back in his chair a bit and looked up to the ceiling.

"Aincrad Academy? As in the most prestigious school on the planet, accepting the very best 1000 students at any time?" Weiss had jumped out of her seat and was shaking Kirito by the shoulders. Slowing down enough to let him hastily shake his head, she immediately resumed with a new set of questions. "How did you get in? Do you have some special ability?" Sneaking a look over Weiss's shoulder, he tried to get the teams attention… only to find Yang recording it and them all rolling around in laughter. Kirito sighed and attempted to answer, but his reply came out muffled and incomprehensible. Weiss let him go and sat back down, not noticing the burning stares Blake was giving her. Weiss was too busy locking her gaze with Kirito.

"Well, let's see.I got in because of a competition I won in Ursir. I had learned a technique from a good friend and mentor, and I bolstered it with my dual wield proficiency. After annihilating every one of my opponents, I was asked personally by Headmaster Tiaos to join. And no, I will not tell you what the technique is." Kirito listed absentmindedly. Weiss crossed her arms and looked away angrily.

Yang looked out across the arena towards her opponent. He was a huge brute, brazen skin rippling as he flexed his muscles. He pulled two brass knuckles from his belt and put them on, steel immediately unfolding until they ended at his forearms. Gun barrels sprouted from each of the knuckles, and Bear banged them together menacingly. Yang grinned as the signal went off, starting the round.

"Bring it, big boy!" Yang taunted as Ember and Celica shifted into gauntlet mode. Bear laughed and charged forwards, right fist raised. He threw a massive punch, but Yang jumped over it easily, delivering a few rounds to the massive man's chest before leaping back out of melee range. Leaping around, she used her speed and agility to literally run circles around the beast of a man. Slowing down momentarily to taunt her opponent, she was caught by surprise when a blade slashed out at her face. She rolled backwards just in time to avoid the blow, but she saw a huge chunk of gold fall to the ground. The air in the arena began to heat up, and Yang looked up at bear with magma seeping from her tear- ducts.

"He is so screwed" Whispered Ruby up in the stands, right before Mount Yang erupted. She threw a fast jab at his chest, fire literally surrounding her fist. The explosive punch caught him straight on, and he was sent backwards at the speed of a hurricane's winds. Yang chased the flying brute, and jumped up to deliver a downward strike that buried part of his body in the ground. He lifted himself from the dirt only to be punched straight in the face, shattering his nose and brow and knocking him clean unconscious. Yang pulled him up and punched again, shattering his ribs. A medic all but teleported down to the field and pried Yang off of him, and then they moved Bear to the ER. Ruby gaped, she'd never seen her sister like that, ever, and it scared her.

Ruby stared down into the arena and watched all the matches. They were all surprising, and some of the moves were amazing and scary all at once. But for the most part, the matches all unfolded the way she figured they would.

Weiss and Nora had an amazing match, with Nora delivering some heavy blows. That required no small amount of rolls and dodges on Weiss' part, but using myrtenester like the needle it was she was able to slip under Nora's guard several times until she finally beat her.

Blake and Yang had sprinted around the arena like excited cats, one never even landing a blow on the other. This led to an unsurprising tie, and both of them seemed pretty put out by it.

Pyrrha had taken on a monster in armor, Ogryn from team KAOS. Ogryns left hand was a huge steel claw with clamp like fingers, and if he had captured Pyrrha in them the match would have been done. The amazoness had won though, landing a lucky shot from her rifle.

Solomon and Sun had fought well, but Solomon ended prevailing. Ruby had unfortunately missed Kirito's first match, but had heard that he had trashed Toon.

Raisa had lost to Zoro, who was using a large bastard sword. Hanna was crushed by an onslaught of flying swords delivered by Penny, and Velvet was nearly decapitated by Rust. Cardin was set ablaze by Kalgor, whose gauntlet could spew flame from the palm. Sky was defeated by Soul, Dove nearly dead by Nesta, and Thrush crushed by Ahriman, the dark aura user. She didn't really pay much attention to the matches though, her mind was on Jaune. Would he survive? The medics wouldn't say anything, beside the fact that he was strong and would most likely live. But the likely wasn't assuring. All sorts of things could go wrong in a recovery, and Ruby had nearly come short a few years back; that scratch from a Beowulf had been infected and Ruby hadn't ever really recovered. She sighed and looked up into the sky, hoping Monty would be merciful.

A/N: Round one, over over over. Tell me the reference **(Not the SAO one)**, and you can make an OC with a name that either starts with C or S. There are several embedded references, and it'll disappoint me if they aren't found. The OC's will appear in team VRCS, known as voracious, with Velvet and Rook. Submitted OC's must all be faunus'. Other than that, freedom of choice. Include a back story, weapon, and armor, along with fighting techniques and appearances. See ya!


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